The second squab has hatched!

I kept checking the nest all day, annoying the momma dove.  Finally, by 2:30pm I checked for the 4th time and the second egg had hatched.  The older of the two squabs was sitting upright next to its sibling.

I have the bird bath moved closer to the front patio, and some seed nearby.  This way the mother dove doesn't have to look far for food.  According to Google, the squabs will remain quiet until their eyes open in a few days.

I secured the metal shelf with cord, so that it remains upright in strong wind. A towel around the shelf keeps the nest out of sight and helps the bird from stressing out too much.

In two weeks the birds will fledge and that's when they will become easy prey to road runners,coyotes, and javelina. I will do my best to protect them.

The eggs hatched at a good time.  The heat will continue now into the summer.  I don't have to worry about the birds freezing at night.  No storms either for a while, either.

The heat is on! The first dove egg has hatched!

We're finally getting seasonal heat.  I walked Gretchen after sunrise at 60F and didn't need to wear a flannel shirt.  Two hours later and at 70F, I took Hansel, Gretel and Fritz down to the river but had to turn around because a stubborn Gila Monster was in the middle of the trail and Fritz was too curious about the lizard.  He only listened because I turned around right away and gave my usual command "This way!" 

This is the third Gila Monster I've encountered, and all were about a half-mile from the river and all in exposed desert.

We all felt the heat.  Soon starting a hike at 7:30am will be too late.

The yellow glow from a month ago is now gone  The creosote flowers have all turned to seed.  The only blooms left are the sweet acacia balls.

All three dogs were panting hard when I got back to the Honda.  They did three miles in exposed desert with no water until we got home by 9am.  The water trough was their immediate relief.

I watered the plants along the backyard fenceline.  A few hours later, by 1:30pm, I checked in on the dove.  She was positioned sideways on her clutch and didn't move when I got close.  I had noticed a broken eggshell.  Where was the squab?  When Momma Dove flew away I saw the little heap, barely breathing.  It must have just hatched earlier this morning.

I need not have worried.  I googled "newly hatched squab" and Google said the new hatchlings are motionless for several hours as they can't see or hear.  Momma Dove was protective of her new baby but let me photograph it.  I'm excited to watch it grow, but I also don't want to stress out the dove. At least she is off the ground and well-protected from predators.  My strawberry plant is surely traumatized, though.

The second egg should hatch tomorrow and then I'll have two weeks of worry as they will nest for two weeks before fledging, and then I'll worry about predators.

A good rain

We had a forecast for heavy rain in the afternoon and the rain delivered.

I was home by 4: t5pm and the mountains were already shrouded in fog.  By 5pm it began to rain in a steady pattern with a short reprieve for me to walk around the backyard.  And then it began in earnest by 10pm.

I'm glad I was safely at home and the dogs could come inside for the night.  While we heard the coyotes howl wildly at 9pm, the rest of the night was peaceful.

Even Momma Dove settled in for the evening, roosting over her two eggs.  I hope the towel around the shelving kept her dry enough to stay warm.

I never got my evening dog walk in but I hope in May I can do a better job with my daily mileage.

Dove roosting on my patio in a strawberry plant

My goal this weekend was to get as many of the potted plants I got this week into the ground, walk all the dogs and clean out my Honda.

My Saturday began early with my usual coffee, and by 7:45am I was walking the river trail with Wolfie and Zana. They are my two heaviest dogs that need exercise the most, but isolating them from the rest of the pack isn't easy as they all want to join me on a river walk. 

Wolfie hadn't gotten his long walk in almost two weeks, so I know he was happy chasing Zana in the desert. High winds were predicted all day through the evening, but it wasn't so bad in the morning. 

I was only on the trail for 90 minutes and back home by 9:30am.  I was quick to repot a bare-rooted Mexican lime tree and then put a new white oleander in the ground were once my Italian pine failed. I just can't grow pines in my front yard. Everyone has died so far, but the oleander are doing well.

I noticed a dove nest in one of my strawberry pots. A single egg standing on a few dried twigs. It's not much of a nest, but does Momma dove really want to roost there, with all the in-out traffic? I love watching birds and she is welcome to stay if my constant presence won't bother her. I just need to remember to take the side entrance more often. 

 

There were no birds on my property when I first moved here. I'm glad that is changing. I will try to leave Momma dove some seeds and water for her.

Later in the early evening, when clouds were forming, I draped a towel around the shelf the strawberry plant is on to give Momma Dove some privacy so she feels safer.  Hopefully the towel will also keep the wind out.

A high school friend has died

I was sitting in my IKEA chair in the late afternoon. like I always do, scrolling through my Facebook when I noticed a message on Dave Glogowski's page stating that he unexpectedly died of a "cardiac event" on April 15th. He was a retired USAF colonel and just 65 years old. I saw that message and was shocked. He was always so active and healthy, how could he die so soon? David and I were good friends in High School in Germany where our parents were stationed. Kaiserslautern American High School. I was class of 1978 and he the class of 1979. We both were on the cross country and track teams. along with sisters Jill and Lynda, Tim Davis (my boyfriend for that last year until he dumped me a week before the prom), Mark Burdan,Don Stearns, Bob. We often went out together to downtown Kaiserslautern and ate and drank at the Weinstube. Dave and Tim got close that last year and the two boys were also good friends. Dave and I were never serious, also we did go out as close friends briefly in college. HE went to the U of Illinoi and I went to Indiana U. When he told me that I would need to convert to the Catholic faith I knew it wasn't meant to be. Besides, Dave was always highly driven and he was determined to join the Air Force after college. I didn't just want to be an officer's wife stuck in the home with the kids, so we parted gently. We kept in contact sporatically, meeting in the base library of McGuire Air Force Base next to Fort Dix where I was stationed. He happened to be in the area for some of his troops graduation. Our conversation was short and a bit awkward as he let me know I should have been an officer instead of enlisted. But all that aside, I admired Dave for his success. He married a woman he met at U of Illinois and they stayed together for 43 years, until his death last week. His strong faith and his allegiance to country and family were important to him. He was also very proud of his accomplishments. The death saddened me as I'm sure his wife Jeanne is hurting. Now a widow with three grown kids and four grandchildren, she is all alone in their big Florida home. I'm sure she is grieving. Dave was always active, so dying of a cardiac event seemed so weird. I ended up scrolling through Dave's Facebook page to know more about his career. We hadn't hooked up on Facebook until just six months ago, and I was even skeptical to accept his friend request. But his page is disappointing as he doesn't post much unless he and Jeanne are out enjoining a performing arts play at the center in Tampa. He posted a bit about his daughters and grandkids but little about Jeanne. He also posted a crypted post about "fighting the black dog" late last year. I'm not sure what that was about as his older posts were seldom personal. I ended up going to bed early and forsaking a night walk. I kept thinking about Dave, knowing he's now gone forever and a high school reunion with him and the old track team will never be. And that got me thinking: is it better to die young and successful, or old and experienced?

Fritz and Gretel to the river

Creosote and Desert Marigolds are still in bloom but now the Sweet Acacia shrubs with the yellow round fluffballs are also blooming.

Tent catepllars are also busy building their silk sacks in the trees along the river.

To the river with Fritz, Gretel, Wolfie

The desert continues its bloom. Cottonwood trees have slowed down their aerial seeding, but now tent caterpillars are moving in.

Spring has sprung

Carr Peak with Gretel

The sky was still hazy from the prescribed burn last Friday, but this morning there were darker clouds moving in from California.  Rain was predicted for the afternoon. This was our first post heat-dome weather.   I had a dinner with Ellen's parents at 6pm, so what better time to hike up Carr again.  I haven't been up there since December with Margot. 

Getting the right dog alone for a hike is always a big chore.I had four dogs in the back yard and Gretchen inside the house.  She acted very scared around the other dogs and I'm assuming they had attacked her this weekend.  This way she wouldn't stress out in my absence.  I took her on a short pee walk and left the house shortly after 10am with Gretel. She was long overdue a solor hike.

We got to the Sawmill trailhead at 10:49am.  It was 65F. We were the only vehicle at the trailhead.  Skies were still hazy from smoke rather than clouds, although two hours later, at the peak, it was thundering.  This thunder scared Gretel and she stayed right behind me for the descent.

It never did rain during my hike.  The dark clouds moved north of the mountain range.  The temperature remained mild with no breeze, which is typical just before a storm. I hiked at a steady pace, but noticably slower than usual with many short breaks to get my breathing back to normal.

The spring was barely trickling, but there was enough water in the tub for Gretel to drink.  The waterfall was also dry.

As for flowers, I saw mostly dandelion along the lower elevation, and a purple prostate flower near the peak and yellow prostate on the peak. The aspen are still leafless but the elms are budding.  The post 2011 pines all have healthy candles growing.  

Ravens circled overhead near the peak.

I met one person on the hike.  She was coming down the peak as we were ascending.  I recognized her from a hike in the Perimeter parking lot on Christmas Eve!  She is Kathy from St David, who drives an hour most weekends to hike the trails solo.

I was back at the car by 2:30pm and back home by 3pm.  Gretel napped the rest of the day.  She was too tired to bully Gretchen.  I kept the other four dogs outside until I got home from my dinner with Ellen, her parents, and Brenda and Gordon, old hiking friends I hadn't seen in years.